Tag: economic development

Mar 9

2016

US Labor Secretary: inclusive growth matters

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U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, a Buffalo native, received a standing ovation in his hometown Tuesday as he spoke about the importance of workforce development at Bennett High School. Perez stressed the importance of hiring local residents for taxpayer-funded construction projects. “We can make sure that the residents of Buffalo and Erie County participate in our prosperity. Inclusive growth is what we’re all about,” he said. Perez’s visit comes amid growing concern that communities of color aren’t being included in the opportunities created by the city’s construction boom. The local construction trades, whose members staff many major public works projects, have made[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Feb 28

2016

Outrages: Lack of diversity in the trades

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Charlotte Keith reported last week about the lack of diversity in local trade unions. Minorities account for 17 percent of the workforce in Erie County, but only 11 percent of membership of 18 building trade unions. What’s more, that number has barely budged over the past decade, despite a pledge by the unions to dramatically diversify their membership. A fair amount of the blame falls to the unions, but there’s plenty of blame to go around. Unions and community groups that recruit and train minority job candidates generally don’t get along. They accuse each other of a lack of communication.[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Feb 23

2016

Buffalo trade unions lagging in diversity

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  Construction in Buffalo is booming. SolarCity. Children’s Hospital. The University at Buffalo Medical School. Taxpayer-funded projects like these are employing thousands of union construction workers. But the boom has resurrected concerns that the unions have made little progress over the past decade in diversifying their membership. While minorities make up 17 percent of Erie County’s workforce and more than half of the city’s population, they account for only 11 percent of unionized construction workers, according to the most recent figures available. What’s more, there’s been virtually no change in the racial makeup of the building trades over the past[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Jan 14

2016

Buffalo’s ailing inner-city

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Buffalo is not immune to the social problems that have produced conflict in Ferguson, Baltimore and other urban centers, two prominent African American leaders said Wednesday at a luncheon hosted by Investigative Post. “Can there be a Ferguson or a Baltimore in Buffalo? Absolutely,” said Rev. Darius Pridgen, pastor of True Bethel Baptist Church and president of the Buffalo Common Council. Dr. Henry L. Taylor, a professor and founding director of the Center for Urban Studies at the University at Buffalo, called for the creation of a development fund for the East Side whose participants would include government, business, nonprofits[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Dec 7

2015

Buffalo’s East Side awaiting a rebound

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While Buffalo is recovering, there is plenty of room for improvement, especially on the city’s East Side. That was the consensus of a panel discussion moderated last week by Jim Heaney of Investigative Post, who shared his impressions with Steve Brown on the weekly edition of Investigative Post. Panelists said the East Side lacks organizations with the capacity to manage redevelopment initiatives. The relocation of African American residents away from development hotspots was cited as another problem.  

Posted 8 years ago

Dec 2

2015

Buffalo’s incomplete, inequitable rebound

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Has Buffalo really gotten its mojo back? That was the question posed by Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney during a panel discussion Tuesday at Allen Street Hardware attended by an overflow crowd of 80 people. The panelists were Newell Nussbaumer, editorial director of Buffalo Rising, Rocco Termini, president of Signature Development, and Henry Taylor, professor and founding director of the Center for Urban Studies at the University at Buffalo. They did agree that the Queen City has made strides, but most of its work still lies ahead, and not everybody is sharing in the recovery. Much of the night’s discussion[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Nov 30

2015

Outrages & Insights: Diversity at SolarCity

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There’s a problem with the pipeline that is feeding workers to the SolarCity project at Riverbend, Jim Heaney told Steve Brown on Sunday’s installment of Outrages & Insights. Heaney, referring to a story last week reported by Charlotte Keith, noted that African Americans accounted for only 5.7 percent of the construction workers employed at the SolarCity site during the quarter that ended in September. That contrasts with a city population that is 38 percent black. The project is nevertheless meeting its goal of employing a workforce that is at least 15 percent minority.

Posted 8 years ago

Nov 25

2015

Of job growth and mojo

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Not to rain on the parade, but despite talk from politicians about Buffalo’s resurgence, job growth in Erie and Niagara counties continues to lag behind the nation and state. Sounds like this might make for a good discussion.

Posted 8 years ago
Investigative Post

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